Education

I received my instruction in luthiery at the Roberto Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix Arizona, where I studied under Master John Roberts. At the school I completed two instruments, one acoustic and one electric. In the next few paragraphs I will describe the work I do and the materials used in making a guitar.

Acoustic instruments take about 120 to 140 hours to construct. With basic patterns it is possible to build 6 string, 12 string, and classical guitars in three body sizes. The sides are made on mahogany, rosewood, maple, walnut, or any other hard wood. The sides are then soaked and bent on a hot pipe. I use many more solid braces on the inside of the body then is found in factory built instruments. The backs are made of the same materials as the sides. A good solid back serves to project the sound. The tops are made of spruce. The inside top bracing is where my guitars differ greatly from factory instruments. All of my inside top braces are shaped to fit that particular top. The design is called a modified fan bracing system. I use a three piece laminated neck, which is a weak area in many guitars. The fret board should be of very hard wood because of the finger wear when playing. These are some of the basic construction standards I use for acoustic guitar construction.

The electric instruments take less time, about 60 hours, but have much more hardware, which adds to the materials cost. The solid body electrics are made of a good solid hardwood such as mahogany, maple, and so forth just as the acoustics are. The body shape can be changed to suit individual needs as long as the hardware layout requirements are considered. Most electrics are finished in lacquer for a hard surface finish.

I prefer to build instruments to a customers order. Every guitar player has different needs that can be met with a custom designed and built instrument. Female players requiring a light or small instrument and left-handed players are two examples of musicians who would benefit from a custom built guitar.

Over the past 22 years, repair work has consumed most of my time in the shop. I have done work on all of the major brands of musical instruments. I am an authorized warranty repair center for the Martin Guitar Company. I have worked on all kinds of instruments from the “normal” guitars electric or acoustic to ethnic and one of a kind instruments built by someone in the garage.

Repairs on instruments come down to a few basic procedures. The following is a list of repairs I have done but may not include every situation I have encountered.

Basic setups:

· Gluing: Cracks, bridges, seams, bindings, top to sides, sides to back, broken headstocks, broken necks and braces.

· Fret Work: Total refret, partial refret, fret leveling and lose frets.

· Parts Replacement: Custom bridges, fret boards, machines, bindings, acoustic saddles, corian string nuts.

· Electric Guitars: Replacement of any or all electronic components, tremelo replacements and custom pick guards.

· Acoustic: Pickup installation, total neck reset to lower action on better guitars must be cost effective.

· Finish Work: Total refinishing of guitars, limited basis and summer only.

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